1.Functional mechanism of Qushi Huoxue decoction in treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease based on network pharmacology and experimental validation
Wei-qiang TAN ; Xiao-ke RAN ; Zhao-quan PAN ; Xu-dong LIU ; Ye-huang WEI ; Xiao-qian GONG ; Rong-rong WANG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1761-1768
Aim To verify the therapeutic effect of the Qushi Huoxue decoction(QSHXF)on a mouse model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)using network pharmacology and experimental approaches,to examine the changes in the PI3K-AKT-lipid metabo-lism signaling pathway,and to elucidate its molecular mechanisms.Methods The potential active ingredi-ents and targets of the QSHXF were identified using the TCMSP platform.NAFLD-related genes were sourced from the GeneCards,PharmGkb,TTD,and OMIM data-bases.The intersection of drug targets and NAFLD treatment targets was analyzed to identify the key tar-gets of the QSHXF in treating NAFLD.The STRING database and Cytoscape 3.9.1 software were utilized to construct networks linking traditional Chinese medicine active ingredients to disease targets and PPI networks,allowing for the screening of key active ingredients and core targets.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the intersecting targets were conducted using R version 4.2.2.The NAFLD model was established by feeding mice a methionine-choline deficient diet for a duration of five weeks.Following successful modeling,low,me-dium,and high doses of the QSHXF were administered for intervention over a period of six weeks.The efficacy was verified and the underlying mechanisms were ex-plored using methods such as HE staining,Oil Red O staining,and Western blot analysis.Results The net-work pharmacology prediction indicated that QSHXF might effectively treat NAFLD through key components such as quercetin and kaempferol,as well as core tar-gets including STAT3,AKT1,and HIF1A.KEGG en-richment analysis further suggested that QSHXF might exert its therapeutic effects on NAFLD via signaling pathways such as AGE-RAGE and PI3K-AKT.Verifi-cation through animal experiments demonstrated that QSHXF could significantly reduce hepatic steatosis and lipid droplet accumulation in NAFLD mice.Specifical-ly,it markedly decreased serum levels of TC,TG,ALT,AST,and LDL,while increasing HDL levels.Addition-ally,the treatment significantly reduced the protein ex-pression levels of p-PI3K,p-AKT,SREBP-1c,FASN,and ACC1 in the liver.Conclusions QSHXF can sig-nificantly enhance liver function,improve blood lipid levels,and alleviate hepatic steatosis in NAFLD mice,with its mechanism potentially linked to the inhibition of the PI3K-AKT-lipid metabolism signaling pathway.
2.The novel compound Austocystin R induces cycle arrest and autophagy in triple-negative breast cancer cells by regulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway
Xin-yue GONG ; Min WEI ; Xiao-qin YU ; Yun-lei XU ; Yi-fan BAI ; Cheng-xiong LIU ; Fan CHENG ; Kun ZOU ; Jian-feng CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1651-1658
Aim To explore the in vitro anti-human triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)effect and mech-anism of Austocystin R.Methods MTT assay was used to evaluate the anti-tumor potential of Austocystin R for various human tumor cells and normal cells.Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate the influence on cell cycle progression.mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus transfection was used to evaluate the autophagic flux process.Western blot assay was used to verify the effect of Austocystin R on the expression of related pro-teins.Results The results showed that Austocystin R significantly inhibited the proliferation of multiple tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner,especially for the MDA-MB-231 cells with an IC50 of 1.45μmol·L-1.In addition,Austocystin R increased the protein expression of PTEN,p53,p-p53,p27,p21,and down-regulated the expression of p-PI3K,p-AKT and p-mTOR.Austocystin R can significantly increase the proportion of S-phase MDA-MB-231 cells,inhibit the expression of Cyclin D1,CDK4,CDK6,Rb,Cyclin B1 and CDK1,and promote the expression of Cyclin E1 and CDK2.Austocystin R can promote the autophagic flux process of MDA-MB-231 cells,promote the expres-sion of LC3 Ⅰ/Ⅱ,p-Beclin-1,p-ULK1,HMGB-1 and Atg 14 proteins,and inhibit the expression of Beclin-1,ULK1,p62,ATG 3,ATG 4B,ATG 5,ATG 7,ATG 12,ATG 13 and ATG 16L1 proteins.Conclusion Austo-cystin R can exhibit its anti-TNBC activity by inhibi-ting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway,blocking the cell cycle at the S phase and inducing autophagic cell death.
3.Enzyme-directed Immobilization Strategies for Biosensor Applications
Xing-Bao WANG ; Yao-Hong MA ; Yun-Long XUE ; Xiao-Zhen HUANG ; Yue SHAO ; Yi YU ; Bing-Lian WANG ; Qing-Ai LIU ; Li-He ZHANG ; Wei-Li GONG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(2):374-394
Immobilized enzyme-based enzyme electrode biosensors, characterized by high sensitivity and efficiency, strong specificity, and compact size, demonstrate broad application prospects in life science research, disease diagnosis and monitoring, etc. Immobilization of enzyme is a critical step in determining the performance (stability, sensitivity, and reproducibility) of the biosensors. Random immobilization (physical adsorption, covalent cross-linking, etc.) can easily bring about problems, such as decreased enzyme activity and relatively unstable immobilization. Whereas, directional immobilization utilizing amino acid residue mutation, affinity peptide fusion, or nucleotide-specific binding to restrict the orientation of the enzymes provides new possibilities to solve the problems caused by random immobilization. In this paper, the principles, advantages and disadvantages and the application progress of enzyme electrode biosensors of different directional immobilization strategies for enzyme molecular sensing elements by specific amino acids (lysine, histidine, cysteine, unnatural amino acid) with functional groups introduced based on site-specific mutation, affinity peptides (gold binding peptides, carbon binding peptides, carbohydrate binding domains) fused through genetic engineering, and specific binding between nucleotides and target enzymes (proteins) were reviewed, and the application fields, advantages and limitations of various immobilized enzyme interface characterization techniques were discussed, hoping to provide theoretical and technical guidance for the creation of high-performance enzyme sensing elements and the manufacture of enzyme electrode sensors.
4.Study of an Assessment Tool for Social Care Needs of Terminal Patients at Home and its reliability and validity
Yao XIAO ; Xiaotian ZHANG ; Yongting WEI ; Yinghui MA ; Ni GONG ; Jing YANG ; Zishen WANG ; Peng YUE
Chinese Journal of Nursing 2025;60(1):99-105
Objective A Social Care Needs Assessment Tool for Terminal Patients at Home is constructed and tested for its reliability and validity.Methods In view of the Social Ecosystem Theoiy,based on the semi-structured interviews,participatory observation and literature analysis of the social care needs of terminal patients at home,a questionnaire item pool was formed.Through 3 rounds of Delphi expert consultations,the initial version of the tool was formed.From April to December 2023,a convenient sampling method was used to select 504 terminal patients from 22 hospitals in 5 provinces as the research subjects.The reliability and validity of the tool were tested.Result The constructed tool in this study contained 3 dimensions:micro,meso,macro,with a total of 34 items.Cronbach's α of the tool was 0.966 and split-half reliability was 0.877;I-CVI at the item level was 0.875~1.000 and S-CVI/Ave was 0.989;the exploratory factor analysis results showed that the factors load of each dimension were greater than 0.4;the results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the tool had good fitting degree.Conclusion The reliability and validity of the nursing-based social care needs assessment tool for terminal patients at home constructed in this study are good,and it can provide a valid tool for healthcare professionals to assess the home-based social care needs of terminal patients.
5.Investigation and analysis of the reasons for unconformity of positive and reverse ABO blood typing by microcolumn gel method in 425 cases
Weihuan XIAO ; Caiping GONG ; Ruixing YE ; Wei XIANG
International Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2025;46(20):2469-2473
Objective To investigate the situation of unconformity of positive and reverse ABO blood typ-ing between outpatient and inpatient patients in the hospital,and explore the reasons for unconformity of posi-tive and reverse ABO blood typing detected by microcolumn gel method.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical records of totally 425 patients with ABO blood type mismatch who underwent ORTHO VISION Max testing in the hospital from August 2023 to December 2024.Comprehensive analysis was conducted using various methods including the saline tube method,irregular antibody screening,increas-ing plasma volume,4 ℃ enhancement test,absorption elution,and gene sequencing,etc.Results Among 128 192 cases of ABO blood type tests,425 cases showed unconformity of positive and reverse ABO blood typ-ing,accounting for 0.33%.The causes were as follows:antibody weakening in 316 cases(74.35%),bone mar-row transplantation in 40 cases(9.41%),interference from irregular antibodies in 34 cases(8.00%),antigen weakening in 13 cases(3.06%),subgroups in 10 cases(2.35%),cold agglutinins in 6 cases(1.41%),inter-ference from irregular and autoantibodies in 4 cases(0.94%),auto-sensitization of red blood cells in 1 case(0.24%),and other reasons in 1 case(0.24%).Among 316 cases with antibody weakening,239 cases(75.63%)involved type A(anti-B weakening),61 cases(19.30%)involved type B(anti-A weakening),8 ca-ses(2.53%)involved type O(anti-A weakening),6 cases(1.91%)involved type O(anti-B weakening),and 2 cases(0.63%)involved type O(both anti-A and anti-B weakening).In patients with antibody weakening,the disease distribution was mainly cardiovascular disease in 127 cases(40.19%),a history of tumors in 67 ca-ses(21.20%),kidney diseases in 11 cases(3.48%),and orthopedic diseases in 10 cases(3.16%).Conclusion The main reason for the unconformity of positive and reverse ABO blood typing in the hospital is the weakening of the antibodies,especially the predominance of type A(anti-B weakening).Weakened anti-bodies are predominantly in the distribution of cardiovascular disease.For subtype-induced disturbances,a comprehensive analysis combining serology and gene sequencing is recommended.For disease-induced uncon-formity of positive and reverse ABO blood typing,monitoring the patients should be strengthened.
7.Functional mechanism of Qushi Huoxue decoction in treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease based on network pharmacology and experimental validation
Wei-qiang TAN ; Xiao-ke RAN ; Zhao-quan PAN ; Xu-dong LIU ; Ye-huang WEI ; Xiao-qian GONG ; Rong-rong WANG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1761-1768
Aim To verify the therapeutic effect of the Qushi Huoxue decoction(QSHXF)on a mouse model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)using network pharmacology and experimental approaches,to examine the changes in the PI3K-AKT-lipid metabo-lism signaling pathway,and to elucidate its molecular mechanisms.Methods The potential active ingredi-ents and targets of the QSHXF were identified using the TCMSP platform.NAFLD-related genes were sourced from the GeneCards,PharmGkb,TTD,and OMIM data-bases.The intersection of drug targets and NAFLD treatment targets was analyzed to identify the key tar-gets of the QSHXF in treating NAFLD.The STRING database and Cytoscape 3.9.1 software were utilized to construct networks linking traditional Chinese medicine active ingredients to disease targets and PPI networks,allowing for the screening of key active ingredients and core targets.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the intersecting targets were conducted using R version 4.2.2.The NAFLD model was established by feeding mice a methionine-choline deficient diet for a duration of five weeks.Following successful modeling,low,me-dium,and high doses of the QSHXF were administered for intervention over a period of six weeks.The efficacy was verified and the underlying mechanisms were ex-plored using methods such as HE staining,Oil Red O staining,and Western blot analysis.Results The net-work pharmacology prediction indicated that QSHXF might effectively treat NAFLD through key components such as quercetin and kaempferol,as well as core tar-gets including STAT3,AKT1,and HIF1A.KEGG en-richment analysis further suggested that QSHXF might exert its therapeutic effects on NAFLD via signaling pathways such as AGE-RAGE and PI3K-AKT.Verifi-cation through animal experiments demonstrated that QSHXF could significantly reduce hepatic steatosis and lipid droplet accumulation in NAFLD mice.Specifical-ly,it markedly decreased serum levels of TC,TG,ALT,AST,and LDL,while increasing HDL levels.Addition-ally,the treatment significantly reduced the protein ex-pression levels of p-PI3K,p-AKT,SREBP-1c,FASN,and ACC1 in the liver.Conclusions QSHXF can sig-nificantly enhance liver function,improve blood lipid levels,and alleviate hepatic steatosis in NAFLD mice,with its mechanism potentially linked to the inhibition of the PI3K-AKT-lipid metabolism signaling pathway.
8.The novel compound Austocystin R induces cycle arrest and autophagy in triple-negative breast cancer cells by regulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway
Xin-yue GONG ; Min WEI ; Xiao-qin YU ; Yun-lei XU ; Yi-fan BAI ; Cheng-xiong LIU ; Fan CHENG ; Kun ZOU ; Jian-feng CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1651-1658
Aim To explore the in vitro anti-human triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)effect and mech-anism of Austocystin R.Methods MTT assay was used to evaluate the anti-tumor potential of Austocystin R for various human tumor cells and normal cells.Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate the influence on cell cycle progression.mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus transfection was used to evaluate the autophagic flux process.Western blot assay was used to verify the effect of Austocystin R on the expression of related pro-teins.Results The results showed that Austocystin R significantly inhibited the proliferation of multiple tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner,especially for the MDA-MB-231 cells with an IC50 of 1.45μmol·L-1.In addition,Austocystin R increased the protein expression of PTEN,p53,p-p53,p27,p21,and down-regulated the expression of p-PI3K,p-AKT and p-mTOR.Austocystin R can significantly increase the proportion of S-phase MDA-MB-231 cells,inhibit the expression of Cyclin D1,CDK4,CDK6,Rb,Cyclin B1 and CDK1,and promote the expression of Cyclin E1 and CDK2.Austocystin R can promote the autophagic flux process of MDA-MB-231 cells,promote the expres-sion of LC3 Ⅰ/Ⅱ,p-Beclin-1,p-ULK1,HMGB-1 and Atg 14 proteins,and inhibit the expression of Beclin-1,ULK1,p62,ATG 3,ATG 4B,ATG 5,ATG 7,ATG 12,ATG 13 and ATG 16L1 proteins.Conclusion Austo-cystin R can exhibit its anti-TNBC activity by inhibi-ting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway,blocking the cell cycle at the S phase and inducing autophagic cell death.
9.Competitive Immunoassay for Detection of Enrofloxacin Based on Metasurface Plasma Resonance Chip Coupled with Gold Nanoparticles
Wei-Hao JI ; Hong-Li FAN ; Lei GONG ; Li-Ping HUANG ; Xiao-Long FAN ; Jia-Yong HU ; Tao-Hong ZHOU ; Gang LIU
Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry 2025;53(5):814-822
Risks of food safety induced by small molecule drug residues in animal food and environment have become an increasing public concern,so it is necessary to develop highly sensitive and easy-to-operate techniques to detect small molecules.Herein,a metasurface plasma resonance(MetaSPR)sensor chip coupled with gold nanoparticles(AuNPs)was developed for detection of enrofloxacin(ENR)based on competitive immunoassay.The detection range of the sensor for ENR was 0.025-3.2 ng/mL,and the detection limit(3σ)was 20 pg/mL.The biosensor showed excellent performance including high selectivity,good stability,ease to operate and high throughput,etc.The developed method was applied to detection of ENR residues in real samples,with recoveies of 96.0% -105.0%.The proposed sensing strategy provided new technique reference for detection of other small molecules in the field of residue analysis in food safety and environment monitoring.
10.Study of an Assessment Tool for Social Care Needs of Terminal Patients at Home and its reliability and validity
Yao XIAO ; Xiaotian ZHANG ; Yongting WEI ; Yinghui MA ; Ni GONG ; Jing YANG ; Zishen WANG ; Peng YUE
Chinese Journal of Nursing 2025;60(1):99-105
Objective A Social Care Needs Assessment Tool for Terminal Patients at Home is constructed and tested for its reliability and validity.Methods In view of the Social Ecosystem Theoiy,based on the semi-structured interviews,participatory observation and literature analysis of the social care needs of terminal patients at home,a questionnaire item pool was formed.Through 3 rounds of Delphi expert consultations,the initial version of the tool was formed.From April to December 2023,a convenient sampling method was used to select 504 terminal patients from 22 hospitals in 5 provinces as the research subjects.The reliability and validity of the tool were tested.Result The constructed tool in this study contained 3 dimensions:micro,meso,macro,with a total of 34 items.Cronbach's α of the tool was 0.966 and split-half reliability was 0.877;I-CVI at the item level was 0.875~1.000 and S-CVI/Ave was 0.989;the exploratory factor analysis results showed that the factors load of each dimension were greater than 0.4;the results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the tool had good fitting degree.Conclusion The reliability and validity of the nursing-based social care needs assessment tool for terminal patients at home constructed in this study are good,and it can provide a valid tool for healthcare professionals to assess the home-based social care needs of terminal patients.

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